Witch's Maw
by Melchor
Summary: One decision could very well have changed things, and the futures of Clare, Galatea, and Jean.  Oneshot.


**A.N. **This is a look at how things could have turned out differently during Clare and Galatea's first meeting with Riful and Dauf, with the first half similar/identical to how it turned out in the manga. I'm still taking a little break trying to get things done in my life, but I thought I'd just put this idea down while taking a break. Oneshot only.

I do not own Claymore. It is the property of Yagi Norihiro only. If I did, Riful would still be alive, ready to fight another day.

* * *

The three half human, half yoma warriors take a quick moment's rest, getting ready to regroup, while warily staring at their foe.

Dauf kneels on his legs in front of them, still as imposing as ever, despite the best efforts of Clare and Galatea earlier. He is missing his right hand because of Galatea, but once Riful pointed out what Dauf needed to do to counteract Galatea's yoki manipulation, the Organization's Number 3 can no longer do as she pleased. She has been forced to release a higher amount of yoki, despite her personal aesthetic preferences, in order to stay in the fight longer. But even still, she cannot overcome the Awakened Being on her own, while Clare goes deeper into the ruined castle, in search of the captured, and nearly awakened, Jean.

When Clare finally came back up with Jean, Galatea uttered silent thanks in her mind. With Jean's power, they might just have the chance to kill Dauf. What happens afterwards, Galatea cannot tell. So far, the Abyssal of the West, Riful, has chosen to stay out of their fight, content with being a spectator on the side. With any luck, she may continue to do so, and if they finally defeat Dauf, they may be able to get away by pushing every bit of leftover yoki in their bodies into their legs. The chances are very slim, but there really isn't much else they can do at this point. The only other option would be to face capture, which would most likely result in them being forced to awaken completely, or death. Never before have had any of them faced an Awakened Being with Dauf's power, and it would indeed be a miracle if they can survive this intact, considering the fact that Riful has yet to show them how she earned the moniker 'Abyssal of the West.'

Jean, with determination set on her face, finally speaks up. "This is the life that you have saved. Do with it as you please."

"Jean." The warrior turns to Galatea upon hearing her name. "We are going to need you to use your technique. Out of all 47 of us, you have the fastest and strongest thrust, so it is perfect for penetrating his tough hide. While Number 47 and I hold the big oaf off, hit him with your best attack."

"Understood, Galatea, but I am going to need time to prepare."

"We will do our best to give you that time. You take the arm with the missing hand, Number 47, is that understood?"

"Yes."

"Let's go!"

Quickly, the two of them rush in yet again, with their claymores brandished, raining more blows on their enemy. The walls around them reverberate with the sound of steel meeting hardened armor. Even though none of them seem to be able to penetrate very deeply into his thick armor, they are at least successful in causing him sufficient amount of pain to distract him.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! You maggots are really annoying me now! Stop moving around so much!"

With a roar, he smashes his arms against them, but the two women are too quick for him, easily dodging his cumbersome attacks. They may not be as strong as the Awakened Being, but they are most definitely faster than him. But just how long will they be able to keep this up?

While Dauf fruitlessly tries to smash the rescuers, Jean is slowly counting off the number of corkscrew twists her right arm makes, while observing the battle between her fellow warriors with Dauf. With the anguish she felt from losing her team, she disregards the pain from the unnatural twisting of her arm muscles, and pours as much energy into these turns as she can, in the hopes of avenging their deaths.

Galatea has, in the mean time, with the distraction from Clare, manipulated Dauf's middle finger to miss smashing into her, just barely.

"I see," Riful comments, off to the side, "when he is attacked by two people at once, he loses concentration, and she can use her technique again."

Barely has Dauf recovered from his shock at missing Galatea yet again, when Galatea nails his hand to the ground with two of the rods he produced. At the same time, Clare continues to keep his right arm occupied with Irene's Quicksword technique.

"Go, Jean!" Galatea commands the third warrior, seeing an ideal opportunity for her to strike.

Jean leaps into the hair, while extending her rapidly twisting arm outward, putting all her might into the strike.

However, Dauf proves to be a more resourceful opponent than they thought originally. He pries his left hand off the ground, taking it off with both the rods and Galatea still on the back of his hand.

"What!" Galatea is surprised by his recovery. She did not think he would be able to react so quickly, having mocked him earlier for a lack of brainpower.

Taking his right arm, he forces it against Clare, who also cannot move away fast enough.

With bone crushing force, he smashes the back of his left hand with his right arm, causing the backs of the two warriors to collide together. Their spines would have surely shattered from the blow, if they had been mere humans.

"Gah!" "Ugh!" The two women cry out from the sudden pain.

Taking his arms away, he allows the two warriors to crumble to the ground, while quickly raising his left hand to block the incoming Jean. Jean clenches her teeth in annoyance, since she cannot change the trajectory of her flight, and thus cannot adjust to the new obstacle in her way. She was so close! For her troubles, though, Dauf's left hand is now missing two fingers, and he cries out in pain.

"Ow! Stop it, you are hurting me!"

Taking his right arm, now merely a stump due to the missing hand, he smashes Jean into the stone tiles of the floor below.

"Agh!" That blow had been punishing, and Jean is feeling the full force of Dauf's anger.

There is now silence, with the bodies of the three women lying on the ground, immobile. A lull now hangs over the crumbling castle.

"Looks like," Riful remarks, pleased with the display, "we won."

While Dauf is grunting in pain the background, Riful begins to talk, mostly to herself.

"That was most fascinating, the best show I have seen in years." With her hands clasped together, and a smile on her face, Riful has an expression on her face incongruent to the kind of careless cruelty she is capable of. "Friendship is so wonderful, so important. I want friends just like them."

Her moment of pleasant reverie is ruined, however, by the increasing loud whining of Dauf.

"My hand, my hand, ow, ow ow!"

"Oh be quiet," chides Riful, as she turns to look at him, "I'm trying to enjoy the moment here."

"But my hands! They cut both my hands!"

Sighing, at the hopelessness of trying to reason with Dauf, Riful admits, "your attacks are ridiculously strong, but at the same time, you also take a ridiculous amount of time to regenerate. Anyway, the fight is over. Now, all we have to do is make them awaken…."

Her speech is cut off, as she sees Clare standing up once again with her claymore in hand, defiant, though with some difficulty getting her breathing under control.

"Hey, are you still going at it? Give it up, the fight is over." Riful tells Clare. "We are not trying to kill you, we just want to hurt you, awaken you, and then make you our friends. If you get yourself killed, then you would lose everything." With her hands clasped in front of her chest once again, and a frown, she pleads with Clare. "Please, I really don't want to kill you."

Whether she actually expects someone with a sane mind to respond favorably to her pleading is not known, though Riful's expression certainly seems genuine. However, Clare ignores the Abyssal's request. "Are you still alive, Jean?"

"Yeah," she replies weakly, "for the moment. Sorry that I was not more useful."

"No, it is my fault. If only I had acted according to plan, then it would not have failed." With her breathing back under control, she asks again. "I hate to have to ask you, but can you do that technique once again?"

"It is not a technique I can keep on using forever, but I think I have enough energy to pull off another one."

"I did not want to ask you to do this," Clare admits, grimly, "but I am going to invoke your promise earlier, to lend me your life."

With a wry smile on her face, Jean begins to twist her right arm once again. "That was my intention all along, from the very beginning."

In answer, Clare increases the amount of yoki flowing through her body in preparation, as her muscles begin to bulge once again. "I will clear a path! You just focus on thrusting the sword into that thing's throat!"

Seeing that she did not get through to Clare, Riful sighs in resignation. "Looks like they still want to fight. Try not to kill them, ok?"

Turning back to the women, Dauf grunts in agreement. "Huh, yer just don't know when to quit."

However, instead of where he expects Clare to be, she is already in front of him. The nominally weakest warrior in the current generation begins to rain down more blows once again, while skillfully dodging Dauf. Dauf roars out uselessly in anger while trying to crush her, but Clare keeps appearing in different places around him, keeping him off balance.

Riful, in her self-appointed role of a commentator, perceptively notes in appreciation how Clare is utilizing the narrowness of the space against Dauf. "She is rather good, but it seems that her borrowed awakened right arm is the one in control, with the amount of useless swinging around of the arm. This would be a problem if a comrade were to get within her reach."

At the same time, Jean continues to count off the number of rotations her right arm is making, all the way up to 21. It is the highest number of twists she has ever made, and once again, she is hoping it will be enough to carry the fight to Dauf.

Quickly looking down in the middle of her fight, Clare asks Jean. "Are you ready?"

However, that moment of distraction from Clare is all Dauf needed to finally catch Clare, and fling her down into the stone tiles below.

"Clare!" Jean shouts in consternation, unwisely catching the attention of the previously occupied Awakened Being.

"Huh, what's this? She's managed to twist up her arm again while I wasn't looking."

While Jean grits her teeth in annoyance at her mistake, Dauf forms several more rods from the fingers of his damaged left hand. "Grah! Take that!" Raising his hand, he fires off the rods towards his new target.

With Jean caught off by the quick response of Dauf, she seems doomed, until Clare miraculously appears in front of her, diverting away all the incoming missiles.

"Clare!" Jean shouts out again, this time in surprise. Her savior has done it yet again, against all odds. How she keeps doing it, Jean does not know.

Neither of the Awakened Beings expected this, with Dauf wondering openly how she is still alive, and Riful thinking out loud similar thoughts.

Their opinions apparently matter little to the outmatched warriors. Clare, while still trying to control her breathing once again, makes one last request to Jean. "Jean, just focus on giving one strong thrust into his throat, and leave everything else to me. I promise you, I will clear you a path."

"I've told you before, my life is yours," Jean is fixing her attention on Dauf once again in determination. "I will follow your command, no matter how impossible."

Taking one last look at Jean, Clare turns her face forward once again. "Go, Jean, pierce right through him!"

With a leap, Jean once again jumps towards Dauf, intent on completing what she failed to do last time.

The surprised Dauf and Riful looks on in wonderment, as Jean jumps forward without any perceived cover from Clare. Reacting to the imminent threat, Dauf brings forward both of his arms, intent on crushing Jean for sure.

However, just then, Clare jumps after Jean, and to the astonishment of Riful, begins to focus her Quicksword technique only on where she reads Dauf's yoki flow. Somehow, she has managed to not cut Jean, even though the latter warrior is right in front of her, and is instead hitting only Dauf's arms. In the time between their abortive last attempt and this one, Clare has learned from her mistake, and is now finally utilizing the Quicksword to its full potential.

So shocked by what she is seeing, Riful finally stands up from her position. "What is that? She is completely avoiding her comrade's body while striking only Dauf's arms. I don't believe it."

Seeing Jean continue her advance unimpeded, thanks to Clare's efforts, Dauf opens his mouth to reveal several projectile rods, ready to end the threat before she can hurt him any further. "Take this, you!"

Jean did not expect this, but there is nothing she can do. Clare is behind her, and cannot possibly reach around her to stop those rods. However, Dauf's mouth is forcibly closed again suddenly. As he struggles to open them, Jean looks to the side to see Galatea propped up against the rubble on the ground.

"Sorry," she gives a small grin, "but the only thing I can do right now is close his jaw."

"Go Jean!" Clare shouts out, getting her attention back on the task at hand, "thrust with all your might!"

At this tantalizing moment of seemingly impossible, but imminent success, something happened that none of the three warriors expected. Riful, who, up to that moment, has not actively taken part in their desperate fight against Dauf, finally decides to join in.

While the warriors are willing Jean onward to complete her strike, Riful, with a movement faster than any of them expected, transformed her unblemished right arm into a large mass of black metallic stripes. The awakened portion of Riful's body then spread out in several directions, simultaneously wrapping around each of the three warriors and trapping them. With the warriors still in the beginning stages of realization, she forcibly smashes both Clare and Jean back down into the ground.

Jean's right arm, which had just begun to unwind before Riful's surprise attack, twisted uselessly while inside Riful's grasp, with the sword lost during her impact with the ground. The pained look on her face is from both the force of her crash, and the bitter knowledge of how close she had been to avenging those that died while under her command. She was prepared to launch all her efforts into that attack, and from the way her arm is throbbing, she knows that her opportunity for retribution may have been lost.

Clare is not faring any better, and is grunting in pain at the sudden punishment subjected to her body. She had been so foolish, to think that the Abyssal One would continue to be a bystander. Everything else had worked in their favor; even that last desperate attempt by Dauf had been diverted by Galatea. Jean was well on her way to obtaining her revenge. But none of them can possibly overcome the power of the Abyssal One of the West, judging by this sudden display of power, even if they had been successful.

Galatea is feeling the worst out of all of them. She had to take on Dauf by herself for the longest time, and spent just about all her energy in that first combined effort. Though she is Number 3, even she has her limits, and unless the Abyssal One would be so kind as to give her time to rest, she's not sure she can do anything else anymore. However, it's quite obvious that Riful of the West is more intelligent than her companion, and would not be so easily swayed. They've tried to buy time for themselves throughout this entire encounter, and it had all depended on the non-involvement of the more powerful Abyssal One.

"Well, I had hoped to let this play out, and see it through all the way to the end. But if that last attack connected, Dauf would have been grievously injured." Riful looks at the three of them, with some regret. "After all is said and done, he is still my man, no matter how stupid he is. I cannot afford to lose him. Sorry to have interrupted your moment of triumph."

Turning to face Clare specifically, her facial expressions changes to one of happiness. "On the other hand, for you at least, you now will have a chance to settle your issues against that woman. I will even tell you all you want to know about the man in the North, even though you never managed to cut me. All you have to do is awaken, and join me. It is the simplest way to have your vengeance."

Clare's look, however, is anything but joyful. "I almost fell for it last time, if it had not been for Galatea. I will not make that same mistake again."

"Oh please," Riful scoffs, "the three of you have been wonderful, and have done more than I could have imagined against Dauf. Especially you; to think, a low-ranking warrior like you has been the most surprising so far. You have a borrowed arm with such an interesting technique, and the will to turn back after going past your limit. However, you all have had your chances to shine, and as interesting as it has been to watch, we really should start putting an end to this. You are all nearing your limits, if not already at the point of exhaustion. Any more fighting will just end up killing you, and that would be no fun."

"Or you could just let us go, so that we become even stronger in the future," Galatea offers her input. It is worth a shot. They cannot possibly end up worse than their current situation.

"That is indeed true. With the amount of power you already have, there is no doubt you will continue to get stronger, and become even more powerful when you awaken." Riful appears to ponder this point, and though Clare and Jean are incredulous that Galatea's gambit seems to be working, none of them are willing to say anything. They are mere playthings for her at this point, and there is no point in doing anything to jeopardize any chance of them getting out of this alive.

However, that brief moment of respite is quickly quashed. "But that would take too long, and though Dauf and I are both strong enough, I would like to have some more people by my side, before the man in the North starts anything. It is also getting somewhat boring, just having the two of us.

Turning to Dauf, who has once again lapsed into more moaning about his damaged hands at the side, she beckons him over. "Ok Dauf, you know what to do."

His disturbing grin does not comfort them, but unlike before, there is nothing they can do about it. Not this time.

* * *

On a hilltop some distance away, a black robed man and a woman are looking in the direction of the castle. They have been watching for some time now. While the man cannot see or sense anything at all different about the place, the same cannot be said for the woman. Based on her input, he can make certain assumptions about what is happening, even if he is not a witness.

"What do you sense now?"

"The strongest source of yoki earlier has hidden her yoki once again. The second strongest source of power has remained steady in the output of yoki. As for the three warriors, two of them have already awakened, while the third one is on the point of awakening."

"Humph, I see, so that means God-Eye Galatea is lost to us. A pity, she has been quite useful for the Organization. But we already have another Eye in reserve to take over if something like this happened, so we just need to speed up her training. As for the other two, they would have been sent north into Alphonse even if they had survived."

Taking a pause, as he further digests the information given to him earlier, he turns to look at the woman. "However, that is not the reason for us being here. That powerful source of yoki is most certainly Riful of the West. How would you compare yourself against her, at your current level?"

Taking a moment for self-assessment, the woman finally replies. "I could not obtain an accurate read of her yoki level, despite that earlier burst, so I do not know what percentage that is of her total power. The most conservative guess I have is that I can decrease her perhaps by 30% before I die."

Closing his eyes in contemplation, the man nods in response. "It is certainly inconvenient that you cannot properly gauge her power, and the failure of those three to challenge her further has not helped. We will have to wait for another chance."

Opening his eyes again, he looks at his charge. "In the meantime, it is time to move into the next phase of your training, which should raise your power by another 30%."

"Yes," the woman replies, in a monotone. "I understand, and will begin my next training to raise my power level by 30%."

Quietly chuckling, the man turns around, and begins to walk away. "It is time to go back. Come, Alicia."

"Yes."

* * *

Deep inside the castle, several levels beneath the scene of their ultimately futile struggle, Jean is once again suspended in the same spot in which Clare found her earlier. Once again, her body has fully transformed, and the only thing holding her back from full awakening is her willpower. However, that willpower is being slowly eroded away, as she looks on in horror at the scene in front of her.

Seated across and facing her is Riful, once again, except her left arm is circled around the waist of a slightly listless Galatea. Or, what once was Galatea. The creature in front of her still looks as she once did in her human form, though her hair is no longer golden, and the eyes are not grey. To the other side, the creature that had once been the Clare that she had known so briefly stands, in her fully awakened form. Large appendages have replaced her arms, each of them armed with sharp bladed tips. It is now obvious that Clare's right arm did not used to belong to her, as the shape of the transformed parts differ from the appendages on her left side, though no less deadly. Her feet are now similar to the hind legs found in horses, and her face looks simply demonic. She is still somewhat recognizable, but quite obviously no longer human. Dauf, who seems ready to apply more physical torture on her body, is standing by, ready at Riful's command.

"Well, once again, you are the last one still holding out, Jean." Riful speaks up, after the latest lull in the effort to awaken Jean. She leans her head on her right arm, propped up against the armrest of the chair. "Your other companions, as you can see, have already obtained the full extent of their powers. Wouldn't you want to join them? You can be with them again, you know."

Jean grits her teeth, and a line of tears fall from each of her eyes, as she looks upon the form of the two warriors with whom she had fought side by side. To think, that the ones that had come to save her, are themselves now the victims of this cruel creature. Their willpower had been strong, and they had held out far longer than the unfortunate Katea and Raquel. That a Number 3 should fall is distressing enough, but for the same to happen to Clare, it is an almost unbearable thought. Not only because she had been the one to bring her back from the edge of no return earlier, but also, because she will now no longer be able to fulfill her pledge to Clare. She had failed Clare, when Clare needed her. If only she had been quicker about her task, then Riful may not have interfered in time.

Seeing that she is not getting a response, Riful sighs, and turns around to look at a new member of her group. Favoring her with a smile, Riful asks her newest asset. "Galatea, what do you see? Is she still there?"

"No, she has just left. More than likely she did not obtain an accurate reading of your yoki, after you hid it."

Putting a finger up to her lower lip in contemplation, she asks again. "How much of a danger would she be for me, currently?"

"At this point, she can decrease your power by 50%, before she dies," Galatea gives her honest appraisal, "but the Organization is sure to continue Alicia's training."

With her brow furrowed in annoyance, Riful nods her head once. "I see, so that means they will come back again. And that means we will have to relocate, how irritating. But since the three of you have just been lost to them, perhaps they will not return so soon. Still, I better step up my search for more recruits soon. Dauf," she calls out to the every loyal Awakened Being, the first of her growing group, "Go into town and look for some clothes for these three. That way, once Jean finally decides to awaken, we can get ready to move."

"Huh, but how do I know what their sizes are?" Dauf responds, clueless, as usual.

"I will never awaken for the likes of you!" Jean bitterly snarls, upon hearing the command. The nerve of her, to think she would cave in! She would much rather die as Raquel did, and deny these Awakened Beings a chance to use her against humans.

Annoyed, and not used to being denied in all the years since she has awakened, Riful addresses the issues one by one. "You are hopeless, Dauf. Fine, Galatea, tell him the measurements he should look for. You probably know best what will fit the other two also."

After Galatea goes off to help Dauf with his task, Riful turns back to their remaining prisoner.

"You keep saying that, but I'm sure we can change your mind." Riful tilts her head to the side, and looks back to her the other new Awakened Being. While she is very glad to have obtained a strong single digit with such capable yoki perception, it wouldn't do well to neglect the others. Dauf is easy to placate, as long as he doesn't become jealous with the attention she is showing Galatea and Clare. As for Clare, she will need to go north at some point. It is the reason that she was finally able to manipulate her into joining, after promising to tell her more about what she wants to know. The woman is carrying a large grudge, which she has yet to explain to the rest of them. But she will help her to achieve her aim, regardless. She always fulfills her promises, and now that Clare has finally agreed to serve her, she will look out for her.

Turning back towards the still defiant Jean, Riful suddenly has a moment of epiphany. Clare was the one who prevented Jean from awakening, so perhaps if she were the one to convince Jean to awaken now, Jean would finally crack.

"Clare," Riful asks, with a smile on her face. This plan will surely work. "Why don't you go help Jean? She is still being stubborn, but I'm sure you can help her see the error of her beliefs."

Silently, Clare walked towards Jean, while transforming back into her human form. Her steps are deliberate, unhurried. She is still not sure of what she is feeling on the inside, but the sense of power is undeniable. She has not forgotten her task to kill Priscilla, to fulfill her own revenge, and the trust that had been placed in her by Irene and Ophelia. She may no longer be human, but she will carry out her task, regardless. The desire for human intestines is strong, very strong, but she can keep it suppressed for now. Like Riful said, the more of them there are joined to a common cause, the higher the likelihood of obtaining success. Will be able to help them, given the power she already possessed as a Number 9, she will no doubt be powerful once she fully awakens.

"Jean," she calls out to the remaining prisoner. "Look at me."

"Clare," the not quite awakened Jean answers back, with newfound tears. "How could this have happened to you? You were the one who had the strength to pull me back, to resist the temptation of our yoma side. How can I possibly fulfill my promise to you now?"

"You don't have to, not yet. But this power, it is a sensation that is indescribable. It feels like I am truly living again, for the first time. All that suffering, all that pain, it no longer matters."

Shaking her head, or rather, turning her head side to side as much as she can, Jean refuses the invitation. "No, I cannot do that. I may not have been strong enough the first time, but I will definitely resist this time to the end."

Riful, seeing that what Jean is saying is in contrast to what her body is actually feeling, knows that she needs to be pushed just a little further. "Let her experience the full sensation of an awakened being's power, Clare."

Nodding her head just once, Clare closes in the distance between herself and Jean, so that her face is almost touching Jean's body. "Here, Jean, let me show you what it is that I mean."

Powerless to stop her, Jean can only watch as Clare wraps her arms around her torso, as much as she can, considering that the wings that are now attached to Jean's body makes the task harder. Then, before she knew it, a flood of yoki courses through her body. Her head jerks back, and her mouth is opened with a silent scream. The amount of yoki is simply incredible, far stronger than what would have been expected from a low-ranking warrior. While she has been able to keep a rein on the flow of her yoki, she is completely defenseless against the outside yoki source. Desperately, she wishes for the rampaging yoki to stop, but it is as if she is trying to plug a damaged dam with a small pebble, when the size of the hole is that of a large boulder.

Finally, Jean releases a blood-curdling scream, as her final mental defenses are overwhelmed by the surge of Clare's yoki. Her own body now responds in kind, and the swell of yoki in the room becomes so potent, that anyone with yoki perception would be able to detect them from the other side of the mountain range.

Riful smiles triumphantly, as all the effort of the day has finally paid off. "Welcome to your new family, Jean."

_End

* * *

_

**A.N. **It has been some time since I last wrote, and I hope the quality of my writing hasn't gone down in the mean time. Please feel free to let me know. This is to help me get back into writing my other current stories.


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